Skolas
by Writer's Pen 77
Summary: The true story of House Wolves, Mara Sov, and Twilight Gap


The Reef was ours, we had the Awoken, beaten, running, scared, but then at our peak we were betrayed by Variks, the Disloyal. In time we regained our strength and waged war on both the Reef's Queen and her pet Guardians, but alas they had defeated our House, stained our Blue banner with the blood of our loyal Barons, Captains and Dregs. Now I Skolas, Kell of Kells, the future of the Eliksni have fallen to The City's newest champion. I await the Queen's punishment, but I will not go down without a fight, I am Skolas, Kell of Kells, this is my story.

"Skolas, get up you pitiful Dreg," snarled the Captain, at once we all stood at attention. "I am impressed Skolas," spoke Captain Tiksn, "not only have you killed two Guardians, but you have captured a Ghost as well, using cunning, courage and Dreg strength alone." "I live to serve," I said smiling. "I think you have regained your honor Skolas, you will not only get 10 extra rations of Ether from the Servitor, but you will also regain your former limbs," said Captain Tiksn, "Kilks, Skoal! unlock this wolf's chains." "Yes master Tiksn, we live to serve," replied the two Vandals. This was a good night.

Later in the main tent, we had a great feast of Ether, after all it wasn't everyday a Guardian died, the savage hunters of our people, never relenting, claiming to spread Light, but left only death. It was true that Earth was their home world, but instead of letting us live in peace they sent Titans, Hunters, and the dreaded Warlocks to hunt us down. During the feast, I spotted the Wolf Baron! My heart was pounding and I was eternally grateful when he approached me, apparently The Kell himself was interested in me.

"Welcome, Skolas, to Cybele, it is nice here, yes?" asked the Wolf Baron. "It is wonderful," I replied. "As you know, House Wolves is the strongest House, it has been that way ever since Whirlwind," explained the Baron, "that is why no Eliksni House dares attack Wolves, unfortunately, the Awoken, Guardians, Vex, and Hive pose a great threat to us, that is why we shall destroy the City, and take away their precious Traveler." My mouth stood agape, "forgive me Baron, but do we even stand a chance against the City, it is the most fortified place in the system, even the Cabal are afraid," I explained. "And that is why we will not fail, we are not afraid," stated the Baron.

"Skolas, the Kell is expecting you," even then I knew this creature, Variks, was from nobility, yet chose to help other Eliksni, such as myself, how he turned traitor, I do not know. "Greetings, I am Variks, Scribe to House Judgement, and now your scribe, I was sent here to inform you that the preparations for war have already begun, this way please," he said. "Alright, but why was I not told earlier?" I asked. "The meeting just started," explained Variks, "now please this way." We made our way to the War Room, where I saw Virixas, our Kell, Kaliks our Prime Servitor, the Archon, Aksor, as well as several prominent Wolves. "Thank you, as you know a head on frontal assault on the City is tantamount to suicide," stated a Wolf General,"not only will the Guardians tear us to pieces, but rumors remain that the City has access to a Warmind capable of reducing us to ash, on top of this how do we know that our enemies will not capitalize on our attack on the City and reduce the areas we now control to little more than remote cities."

"Silence!" bellowed Virixas, I did not invite you here to lecture me on an attack on the City, just think how much better off we'd be without the constant raids of the Guardians, they are the only ones who pose a real threat," stated the Kell, it was here that I learned that the Kell's word was final. To be Kell I had to be ruthless like he was. "Yes sir," stated the General, "please forgive me." "Proceed," coolly stated the Kell. "To invade the City would require a massive force, and we can't do it alone, we need the support of the Kings and Winter," stated the General it is the only way to win."

"Please explain why we would need the Lesser Houses," asked the Kell. "Well sire, you see, the Kings live near the City and are excellent when it comes to hatching plots, House Winter is armed with Vex technology, very powerful indeed," explained the General. "Very well, we shall reconvene when we have the support of House Winter and Kings" stated the Kell, "Dismissed," everyone left.

"Skolas, do you not realize what will happen if we attack the City?" asked Variks, "Yes," I snarled, "We'll lose," I muttered, "Not just that, think of all the civilians displaced or killed, thousands of humans, EXOs, and Awoken, I doubt that the Queen will sit idly by, while her own people are butchered," stated Variks, "the Guardians will hunt us down more than ever before." "Hahaha," I laughed, "Oh Variks, worried about a little bloodshed, those City cowards deserve to die," I said. "But what of the law, Skolas," asked Variks. "We are the only law in the system, Variks, I would hate to tell the Kell of your cowardice," I said. I wish that I had never said that for that led to the loss of a potential friend. "Very well, I don't have to explain myself, to a an uncouth Dreg," snarled Variks, "my House preserved the traditions of the Eliksni, not House Wolves, we saved the Servitors, and created the post of Archon, remember that," and with that Variks stormed away.

I tried to make amends with Variks after that to no avail, meanwhile the other Houses rallied to Wolves, we did not expect what was to come.

"I am Mara Sov, Queen of the Awoken, and you will pay for your transgressions," the Queen's voice rang throughout the Ketch, the Queen just invaded Cybele, the Reef Wars had just begun.

"Virixas, Virixas," panted Aksor, "the Awoken have invaded Cybele, they destroyed most of our advance fleet." "What!" yelled Virixas, "those pathetic Awoken, the weakest faction in the system, who are a joke compared to even the Hive, have taken Cybele!" raged Virixas. "This is unacceptable, out of my sight," "but sir," "Out!" yelled the Kell. This was not a good day for our banner. "Attention, all Wolves, we are now at war with the Awoken and her pathetic Queen, we will bleed the Reef dry until every last one of them is dead! Hail the Wolf banner!" "Hail," yelled the crew, it was now official, the Reef Wars had begun. Our vengeance blinded us from attacking the City, abandoning our closest friends, leaving them to die against the City's Guardians. Thus ended the era of the Eliksni, and became the era of the Traveler, we played right into the Queen's hands.

When Variks returned from Twilight Gap, he was pale, and not just that, he was the only survivor, the last Judgement, his House destroyed utterly by the Guardians, the Kings left when they realized the battle was lost, and Winter fought to the bitter end, the other Houses were calling, calling for Wolf blood, our blood for abandoning them to the Guardians, the City, and a mysterious Warmind, whose identity remained a mystery.

The battle began how it was supposed to, all Houses were present except for the Wolves and Exile, even then, however, we had more than enough soldiers to destroy the City, Noble Walkers razed the gates of the City, despite intense bombardment. The Ketches and Skiffs of our forces destroyed the AA Guns, it was going so perfectly, until it happened, an army of all Guardians, young and old, dead yet alive, stood in our path, and that was the end of everything.

"Variks, Variks, please forgive me, I did not mean to call you coward, you were my friend, please don't leave me," I begged. Variks was quiet reeling from his experience, "they are all dead, all of them" he muttered, "we should not have attacked, we should never have attacked." A Vandal laughed at Variks leading a motley collection of Dregs,"Oh! Boo hoo for you," laughed Skix, before I punched him clear across the face. He was mad, I saw his eyes glow with rage, Variks replied, "No, no more fighting, this is not the way, House Judgement shall never die as long as I am its Kell," and with that he blew powder into Skix's eyes, who then fell asleep, Variks returned to his chambers forever changed.

"Variks, if I was there with you, I would have killed them all, even the Vanguard," I yelled. "Perhaps, this was necessary," stated Variks, "what do you mean?" I asked. "I heard all the other Barons, in their war room, Wolves were not present, of course, but they assumed it was delay, anyway, the House Generals decided that as soon as they got into the City, they would destroy it, burn it, killing thousands, they also said, that they would make the speaker their slave, and that they would mount the heads of the Vanguard on their Ketch, sipping Ether, and watch a Cryptarch dance, when Judgement came, reminding them not to kill civilians, they laughed at us, and decided that we march into the City unarmed and 'conquer them peacefully', when we refused to be cannon fodder, they exterminated us, as I ran away, I saw a Guardian training his weapon on me, but not firing, then it happened, the Warmind, launched a barrage of fire and ash, and just like that the army was blown away."

"Guardians, this victory did not come, but at great cost, thousands of died when the Fallen attacked, many more Ghosts were killed, but know this, as long as there is Light, we can still fight the Darkness," these were the words of the Speaker, "today the Traveler is safe, today we honor the memory of all who died protecting this City, the last vestige of our civilization, we should also be quick to thank Rasputin, the Warmind, who selflessly helped us, while at the same time, revealing his existence to our enemies, this is a day of sorrow, but also one of hope, for today the Light of the Traveler still stands strong, a beacon of hope," And with that, whatever nuisance the Guardians were, became a raging storm bent on the destruction of the Fallen, the Eliksni, us, but while we were concerned, we had more pressing matters to attend to, the war of the Reef. The Queen had a new superweapon, the Harbinger, Kell killer.

It all happened when Virixas, our Kell decided to teach the Queen a lesson over Cybele and failed miserably. "I am Virixas, Kell of Wolves and I demand that you surrender Cybele, or else," he yelled aboard the Ketch's comms, he didn't notice that the Servitors were malfunctioning and that the navicomputers were offline, he was only focused on ending the Awoken. "Mara Sov does not take orders, she gives them," she stated. "May you meet the Whirlwind," he said. "I don't think so," and with that a giant bolt of energy from the Queen's flagship destroyed the Ketch and everyone on it. "Jump into slipspace, chase the Ether," I yelled. All available ships fled into slipspace, those that were too close to the deadly weapon were immobilized and boarded by the Royal Awoken Guard, we had barely escaped with our lives.

"Skolas, how dare you undermine my authority," yelled the Captain," I should whip you for this," he yelled. "Not so fast," said Variks, "as emissary to House Judgement, I must pass judgement." "And why should I listen to you?" he asked. "Because," he said, "our beloved Kell made this decree law, and I would hate to tell your superiors of this disrespect," and with that, the Captain stormed away.

When I returned to my chambers, I received a surprise, a note was left on my table, from Irxis, Wolf Baron. It told me to meet him on the bridge, alone.

I came, armed only with a shock blade, uncertain of what to expect, yet, most pleased that I had earned the attention of a Wolf baron, "Enter," he said, "Guards, leave us." And with that Stealth Vandals, who were a hair's breath away, decloaked, and left the bridge. "I am...impressed with you, Skolas," he stated, "not only have you steered clear from the Kell's politics, but have also proven yourself a skilled warrior, and competent leader, unlike the fool, Virixas," he spat, "Therefore, effective immediately, I am promoting you to Captain, you honor all Wolves with your presence," and with that he left.

I returned to my chambers, ecstatic, I was a Captain.

"All right, you lousy Dregs, work harder, that's right, put your backs into it," I said, savoring my new position, when one of them muttered something about my face, I assigned him to sanitation. Life was good, the Wolves, despite being bloodied, were not beaten. We had a stationary fleet near Ceres, our "home". I was assigned to guard Irxis, and the remnants of his fleet. Life was good, but then, it happened, my one week of free vacation, ruined, the Awoken returned, and completely obliterated the fleet, in the chaos, our ship became badly damaged and we were forced to crash land on the world below. "All right, all right," I yelled, "I know some of you are scared, but remember, this battle will decide the fate of our House, we must prevail, we must fight these Awoken cowards, and we will! Variks, you are in charge of morale, Peekis, reinforce our Walkers, and Skix," "Yes sir," he gulped. "Go fetch me some Ether," I ordered. "Everyone else, follow me." And with that Skix limped away, like the coward he was. "All right, activate the Shanks and form a Perimeter along the cave," I ordered, "for every Awoken killed, you will get 100 Glimmer, Yavek, gather up the scorch cannons, no one will be able to take this cave, hail the Wolf banner," I cried. "Hail!" was the reply.

This was the defining moment of my career, the Battle of Ceres, let me tell you what happened. "I am Mara Sov, Queen of the Awoken, surrender, and I will show you mercy, if not, have you ever heard of the Prison," she asked. "Coward," I yelled, "if you were a true Queen, you wouldn't use those Harbingers, those unfair weapons," I said. "Very well," she said, "I will not use them, but know this, I am no coward," and with that the transmission ended. The battle was about to begin. "For the Queen!" yelled an Awoken soldier, all of a sudden Awoken bombers, attacked us, they came in such numbers that we couldn't hold them off, unless, we had cloaked Walkers, I thought, smiling. "Peekis!" I yelled, "Yes sir," was the reply. "Are the Walkers ready," I asked, "Yes sir," he said. "Fire at will!" The Walkers rained plasma, missiles, and suicide shanks at them, cleaning out half their air force. Yet despite all this, it wasn't enough, more ships came and destroyed the walkers. The Vandals covered the Dregs as they fled into the cave, when the Awoken troops reached the cave we activated the trip mines blowing them away. For every inch of land they took, two of them fell, whether due to tripmines, scorch cannons or wire rifles, and that's how we won the Battle of Ceres.

"I am impressed, Skolas," Irxis told me, "not only have you saved Ceres from becoming another Cybele, but you also inspired many Wolves." "And what have you done?" I asked. "Excuse me," he replied. "What have you done?" I repeated, "how is it that no Kell was chosen after Virixas' death, and where were you at Ceres?" I asked. "Show some respect," he demanded, "you may be a Captain, but I am still a Wolf Baron, dismissed," he said storming off.

The Queen would not be humiliated, and this time, brought an even larger force to Ceres, we were overwhelmed and had to retreat. Irxis, furious at my questioning of his authority sent assassins to kill me, I snapped both of their necks with ease. The Reef had just gotten complicated.

"How did this happen?" I asked. "A civil war between Wolves, whilst we are fighting the Awoken, all because of a simple argument?" I asked, how stupid is Irxis. Then I had an idea, I would contact Vesta, I would contact the Queen. "Honorable Queen, I am Skolas, Wolf Captain, and I have an offer for you." "Speak," she replied. "Well, you see, there is a Wolf Baron, Irxis, who is after my head, I, a simple Captain, cannot fight off the forces of a Baron," I explained. "Yes, well I suppose, I could help you, however, you must tell me who is the new Wolf Kell," she answered. "Simple," I said, "I am."

The Queen laughed, for the first time in years, "You, you are the Wolf Kell," she laughed again, "and you think that I would help you, Oh, Petra come here." "Yes, my Queen," answered Petra. "Show some respect now, you are talking to the Kell of Wolves," smiled the Queen. I controlled my anger, "I may not be Kell of Wolves, yet, but I will be." "Why would the Reef support you," she asked. "Simple," I replied, "if you get rid of Irxis, it could help your cause." "Very well Skolas, just remember that those who cross me, don't live to tell the tale," and with that the transmission ended.

The next day, Irxis was assassinated by Reef Paladins, and I was crowned Wolf Kell, as I knelt before Aksor, and he gave me the Kell's crown, I felt nervous, my deal with the Queen caused this to happen, and in my mind, I was a traitor, yet there was another claimant to the throne, Parixas, Irxis' son. Parixas suspected foul play and refused to join the ranks, he even attempted to contact the Silent Fang, but I intercepted the transmission, and convinced them to join me. Taniks, the Scarred joined me under the condition that he got the most Ether and most advanced weapons in the Wolf Arsenal. For me, price was no object, as long as Parixas still lived, my rule was in jeopardy.

"Skolas," yelled Variks, "Skolas, please don't do this, Wolf against Wolf, surely this is not the way." "I have no other choice," I said. "We always have a choice, brother against brother, this should never happen," Variks said. "It's too late, I said, "I've hired Taniks to do the job." "You've done what?" Variks yelled, "hiring a killer to take out the competition is that it?" he asked. "Variks, please," I said, "don't leave." "Sire, you are my friend," he said, "but I cannot let you do this, if you killed anyone else, you would have blood on your hands," he said. "I already do." I replied. "Skolas?" he asked, "tell me this isn't so." "It is," I replied, "I killed Irxis." "Why?" he asked. "Because he tried to kill me," I said.

After I explained myself to Variks. He became silent. "Ordinarily, the High Judgement would have charged you with treason, but since this attack was in self defense it is justified," he sighed, "you have shamed the ways of old, Skolas, but remember, many a Kell have done the same."

The next day, Parixas was dead, his head delivered to me from Taniks himself. "That'll be 20,000 Glimmer," he said. "20,000?" I asked. "Yes, 20,000, I don't work for free," he replied. "Fair enough," I replied, "here is your reward." As he left, I lay down on my couch, satisfied. With all of my internal enemies scattered, House Wolves was one, no longer fragmented, Parixas, the traitor, and Irxis, the arrogant fell to my blade, and now I was ready to take out the Queen.

"Mara Sov, Queen of the Awoken, I said to you once that I would be the Wolf Kell," I said, "well now you will know true terror," I said. "The House of Wolves does not take to kindly to acts of aggression, return to us the territories you have seized and we shall treat you in kind." "I don't think that you should give me orders," Mara Sov replied, "after all, I protected you from Irxis, when you needed it the most, a slave like you needs to learn respect." "I am no slave, I am Skolas, Kell of Wolves, and you will yield," I demanded. Mara Sov laughed, "you poor stupid fool, I played you for a fool, Irxis didn't hire those assassins, I did, I took the greatest Wolf and turned him against his Chief, the funny thing is, it worked." "You made me spill innocent blood?" I croaked. "Hardly innocent," she replied, "after all, didn't you and your kind invade our Sovereign Realm, treat us as slaves, forced us to build massive ships for you, and your kind, then you had the nerve to destroy a City filled with other Awoken, would you not have razed it to the ground and killed countless innocent Awoken, humans, and Exos, this is our home, all of it, you don't know us, you never tried to." And with that the transmission ended.

"Sir," reported Peekis. "Yes, Admiral," I replied. "It appears that the Awoken have engaged us at Eos, many Wolves have fallen, should I give the order to attack?" he asked. "You know, Peekis, I'll let you decide." I replied. "Sir?" he asked. "You want to know something?" I asked, "I am so sick of all this fighting, so sick of all this bloodshed," I said. "Make peace with the Queen, whatever the cost." "Sir, you're giving up?" he asked, "Do you not remember why the Eliksni came here, we came to escape Whirlwind, our people, sad, lost, afraid, but we stuck by our Banner, our Kell, because we believe in hope, we believe in you. It is said that a new Kell will rise to reclaim the Great Machine, the new Gilded Age, we Eliksni, Wolves, Winter, Kings, and Judgement believe in you, you are the hero of Cybele, the defender of Ceres, you saved us from a corrupt Baron, who would have driven our House to the ground, who would have surrendered to the Queen, who sold us out at Ceres, I know, because I was there, I saw his ships flee, whilst we fought. I talked to Variks, and he told me everything, I believe in you Sire, don't give up, don't give in."

"Attention, all hands, this is Skolas, Wolf Kell, our brothers and sisters are being massacred at Eos, we must send them aid, know that I offered the Queen an olive branch only to be repaid in untold treachery, know this Queen, this usurper of our authority will soon meet Whirlwind, death to the Awoken, hail our glorious banner." I spoke, my mind made up, no mercy on these Awoken traitors. In a couple of minutes our fleet came to Eos and wiped out the Awoken, but at a great cost, 2 Ketches were destroyed and thousands of fighters were lost. Peekis, who could have ended the threat of the Awoken once and for all by following my orders and shooting down the escort ships first, chose instead to bomb the Awoken flagship as a sign of strength, I was so furious, that I demoted him to a Dreg for failing to follow my orders to the letter. From now on, the Awoken would feel my wrath.

"Skolas, this battle was vicious, what will we do to the prisoners?" asked Variks, I'll tell you what we'll do," I said, "we'll send them overboard as a message to their Queen." "Sire, that seems a little extreme," replied Variks. "Well, Variks, let me ask you a question, let's say you became Kell, what do you need to do?" I asked. "You should lead our House to glory and honor," he said. "Yes, exactly, now wouldn't it tarnish my image to let these weak willed cowards live, when their Queen has undauntedly invaded our territory and stained our banner, these cowards must die." And with that I stabbed them though the heart and broadcast my actions to the Queen, I was going to make her pay.

The war was going in our favor, but as we conquered more worlds, Variks and I became more and more tense, it was true that he was my friend, but at the same time he was confusing me, after all, didn't the Queen slap away any chances for peace, it was true that my tactics were brutal, but the Queen had to pay. Then it happened, I was ambushed over Cybele and taken captive.

"Skolas, our banner claims many worlds, yet I fear that you are losing your ethics," stated Variks. "Let me ask you Variks, what do you expect me to do, do you want me to sue for peace?" I asked. "Yes, of course, enough Eliksni have died, it is time to move past the bloodshed," he replied. "You have no idea how I was used by the Awoken, tricked into killing my superiors," I argued. "That may be true, but deep down Sire, I do believe that you want this war to end," he said. "Enough," replied Aksor, "honored Kell, I have just received word that many in the Queen's inner circle are stationed on Cybele, the wretched Queen is there and surprisingly with only one escort fleet, you can end it with a surprise attack." "Dear Kell, please, violence is not the answer," replied Variks. "You all have give me much to think about," I replied, "Aksor, you are dismissed." "Thank you my liege, I must attend to Kaliks, he is feeling unwell," and with that the Archon left. "Skolas," began Variks. "Enough!" I yelled, "I am the Wolf Kell, how dare you talk to me in this manner, we can kill Mara Sov and the war will end, now out of my sight." "But," stuttered Variks. "Out!" I yelled, and with that Variks hobbled away.

...

Variks Pov

"Attention, Mara Sov, I am Variks, Scribe to House Judgement, what I am about to do is treason to my Kell, Skolas, and my friend, it is with a heavy heart I tell you this, you are in great danger, Skolas is sending his fleet to kill not just you, but all of your supporters, I am horrified with how far deep into madness he has gone, how rabid he is, but this I must do, not for you, no, but for the law," I cried. "Noble Variks, thank you for warning me," she said, "I know a whole lot about you, I know how your people are just scavenging pirates, devoid of hope, but we in our council, have come to a conclusion, this war is getting us nowhere, I started this war to save my people in the City, I did not know how disgusted I would become as the war went on, it too has scarred me."

"Hello, Variks," Skolas whispered into my ear.

...

"No," Variks yelled, begging for his life, "I trusted you, my most loyal friend, and this is how you thank me?" I roared, "I think that, yes, I shall dock you, Aksor!" "Yes, my liege," he replied. "Prepare, for we shall dock this traitor and send him to the brig," I ordered. "At once, my liege," he replied. Ether flowed from his severed limbs and the clamps were locked tight. "Ordinarily, I would have given you the chance of redeeming yourself, but you can never rejoin our ranks, you are Variks the Dreg," and with that I left.

...

Mar Sov Pov

"How disgusting," I shouted, "these Fallen are sick barbarians, scum who should be punished, Prince Uldren." "Yes dear sister," he replied. "I need you to assemble a team to rescue Variks, we need a leader like him to tame these Fallen, before the War, I thought of them all as immoral pirates, but after seeing Variks, I know now, that I was wrong, there is still good in them."

...

"Sir, there are Awoken ships coming from all over slip space," reported Yavek. "What, this soon, but you told me that Cybele was lightly defended," I roared. "Forgive me, my Kell," he whimpered pitifully. "No matter," I said, "prepare for attack." Suddenly the lights grew dim, someone on the inside shut off the power, and I was shocked into submission by an ugly gray faced Awoken, with pale yellow eyes, "Wolves attack!" I yelled, "for the Eliksni!" "For justice," the Awoken said. Queen's Guards and Kell's Guards clashed blades, Vandals and Techeuns decloaked ready for battle, I came to my feet and lunged at the commander sending him flying across the room, but their commander was nothing if not persistent. "Is that all you've got?" he said as he powered up his fusion rifle. In a split second I teleported away, just in time too, for one of my Guards were instantly vaporized into powder. "Next time I won't miss, on your knees!" As I surveyed my chambers, I saw most of my men were dead or dying, clearly I was outmatched, but I would not be defeated "I bow to none," and with that I lunged at my assailant only to be met with sleeping powder, like Variks, I thought, then...

"What happened, where am I?" I awoke in a cage, a cell inside of a dirty corridor, where I heard the screams and wails of other Wolves. "Where you belong." replied the enemy commander. "Who are you," I asked, my mouth frothing with rage. "I am Uldren Sov, Prince of the Awoken, not that it matters anyways, you are going to stay here for a very, very long time," he replied, "her royal highness was simply too busy for you, but don't worry, she might soon see you," he smirked. "I'll d kill you," I roared, as I tore through the cell walls, suddenly arcs of light and electricity shocked me, my fur was singed with ash and smoke, I soon realized the collar around my throat. "Oh yes, I almost forgot," he said nonchalant, "about that little collar around your throat, but don't worry, it looks pretty fine if I do say so myself," and with that he walked off smiling.

A few hours later, I was visited by Variks, who appeared to have mechanical limbs, where his former ones once were. "Variks, how could you?" I asked, "is this what you wanted?" "No, but you made me do it, I mean what do you think would have happened if I had let you kill the Queen, would you have stopped this war or would your madness drive you to see every Awoken die at your hands?" he asked. I hung my head in silence, "they had to pay," I grumbled. "Skolas," Variks said, "I know that you may never forgive me, but know this, you had to be stopped, for your madness caused this," and he pointed to his new limbs, "goodbye, my Kell."

The next day I was brought before the Queen, who smiled, smiled at her victory, smiling at the good fortune the Reef Wars had brought her, "hello Skolas, how was your day," she asked in a voice a mother would use. "What do you think?" I asked. "Now, now, Skolas, I did warn you about crossing me, besides your friend, Aksor, blames you for all of this, he pleaded his case before me, I expect you to do the same," she said. "I bow to no one," I replied. "Perhaps you will fare better in the Prison of Elders, take him away."

I lunged at the Queen, only to be met with searing pain and I looked in shock at those who assailed me, they were not Awoken but fellow Wolves, one of whom shocked me in my stomach as I fell coughing up Ether. They looked at me with eyes filled with terror, whilst Mara Sov smiled, suddenly I realized what would happen, House Wolves bowed to the Queen of the Reef, Mara Sov. The Queen, pressed a button on her wrist, "Prince Uldren, please escort this savage to a stasis pod, he will be quite the trophy, a monumental achievement." "Traitors, you'll pay." I said as I coughed out Ether, "Maybe so, but we know that the Awoken have strength, something you don't have," said one of the Wolves.

I was chained and forced to walk into the Prison of Elders, I was shocked at how familiar this place was, then I realized, that this was a Ketch, a Ketch given to House Judgement by a long forgotten Kell, the fact that it belonged to House Judgement, reminded me of Variks and only furthered my hatred of him, at gunpoint surrounded by my fellow Wolves, "I was wondering if I had to see your ugly face again, then again, I have a feeling that it's seen better days," Uldren stated, "tata." I stepped back into a ring, glowing, everything slowed down, streams of nitrogen fluoride glistened across my fur coat and I froze, trapped in a stasis pod.

...

Awoken theme plays

For thirty years, I Mara Sov, have ruled my dominion with a fair, just hand. I have married the House of Wolves to myself, adding a new title to my list, Wolf Kell, or Queen Kell, the first non-Fallen to have ever become a House's Kell, although to be fair, they are skilled warriors, but I am the Queen, I have skills far beyond these Fallen, gifted to us by the Traveler, we may not be as powerful as the City, but we are no pushovers either.


End file.
